Finding You
by ashleywritesstories
Summary: Oneshot. Annie is lost on the mountain on her first day in Bluebell, can Cam find her before they're both mauled by bears and/or other wild animals? Follow Cam on his journey...  Crap summary


"Cam?" Mayor Rutger questioned as he made his was to Cam's unopened flower shop late in the spring evening, where the boy in question was going through boxes at his feet. Cam was in the middle of taking inventory- a task he hated to be bothered whilst doing.

"… Yes Mayor?" Cam asked gruffly, stopping what he was doing to roll up his sleeves, this work was harder than it looked, and he was already working up a sweat with the lack of a breeze that night.

Rutger slumped over as he reached Cam's shop, leaning heavily on his cane, with worry etched into his features and his mouth in a small frown. "I'd hate to bother you while you're doing such hard work, but I need to ask you a quick favor." He said, getting straight to the point and knowing that Cam wasn't one for chitchat.

"That depends." Cam said, raising an eyebrow at the Mayor. Cam wasn't exactly known for going around and doing good deeds. "What'll I have to do?"

"Well, it's nothing big or anything." Rutger said quickly, "but the new farmer, Annie- you know about her right? Well of course you do, news in small towns and all of that…"

Cam nodded anyway, narrowing his eyes a bit- what was Rutger getting at anyway? He had heard about her from the other villagers and, according to Ash at least, she was supposedly very attractive. But Cam doubted that, the boy was far too nice to the female gender, having grown up with a sister. Cam would believe it when he saw it.

"Well, she went up on the mountain today, according to Eileen, and nobody's seen her since. I'm worried about her; she wouldn't know what kind of dangers there are up there."

He fell silent, and Cam, for once, felt the need to fill it. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"I was wondering if you could go up there, and see if you could find her. I would, but let's face it- I'm not young anymore, and I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to protect myself up there, let alone somebody else. She needs a strong young man like you to go, if she's in danger that is."

"Me?" He asked incredulously, seldom did anyone in the villages ask him to do something, and even more seldom did he say yes. "… Sure." At least he would be able to finally check out the supposed rumours. She was probably just fishing or something.

Rutger's face brightened. "Thank you, Cam! Can you head up soon; it's getting darker by the minute."

Cam shrugged his shoulders and went back to the boxes at his feet, quickly repacking them and moving them under the counter, he could finish inventory tomorrow.

Rutger waited silently for a moment, before realizing the conversation was over and taking his leave- trusting Cam with the task.

Cam finished up, and set off the path towards the mountain, nodding to Rutger when he passed without a word. Soon enough, he was at the base of the mountain and just realizing how much walking he might just have to do. He hesitated for a moment, what if the girl was just in Konaha? Then this whole thing would be pointless.

Oh well, Cam shrugged. He could use some exercise, besides the mountain was beautiful at this time at night, a sight he rarely got to see.

He set off up the mountain, looking carefully around for any sight of life- both the girl, and the wild animals that lurked the mountain at all times of the day. Besides, the sooner he finished this, the sooner he could go home.

As he walked, the ground beneath him became steeper and steeper, further annoying him for making him waste time when she was probably fine. With his luck he would probably be busy when he tried to do inventory tomorrow morning.

Cam's breath came in heavy pants as he navigated his way up the mountain, paying less and less attention to the area around him. Suddenly, a shrill scream rang through the silence, causing Cam to take a sharp right and begin climbing the familiar banks with ease to where he believed the scream came from, hoping the girl was just overdramatic. Still a sense of unease made its way through him- that wasn't the scream of someone who found a bug in their hair or something stupid like that.

When he reached the top of the stair like plateaus, he paused and looked around, seeing a flash of red across a flimsy wooden bridge.

He sighed loudly, and frowned. "You have got to be kidding me." He was beginning to regret doing this favour more and more.

Another shriek sounded, and Cam took off- eager to make the sound stop and get home. Just as he was about to step onto the bridge, she came flying across it and stumbled into him, she would have fallen to the ground had he not caught her.

She shrieked once more before realizing what had happened. Her mouth fell open when she righted herself, all worry disappearing from her face when she saw Cam.

"Why hello there, handsome; what brings you here so late at night?" She giggled at the end, blinking her eyelashes at Cam, who was beginning to blush.

"I- Uh… weren't you just screaming for your life?" Cam stammered, unsure of what to do, glancing behind her and seeing nothing that could have led to screaming like that.

Her violet eyes widened, and she turned rigidly, gasping. "Crap!"

She turned back to Cam, "Yeah. We should kind of run." She turned and was about to take off towards the slide, when Cam grabbed her wrist, looking behind him when he heard the sound of hooves clopping on wood. Of course it had to be a boar, Cam thought. At least it wasn't a bear; Cam had had more than enough near run-ins with bears.

"Come on, I know this mountain better than you." He tugged on her wrist and calmly led her to the edge of the cliff.

"Umm, boy I don't know- you might wanna hurry, because that thing_ really_ wants to kill us." She said worriedly, trailing closely behind him even though he dropped her wrist.

"Calm down." Cam said irritably, walking along the ledge with his arm raised, making contact with a wooden object and yanking it down. "I know what I'm doing."

"Well, you might wanna factor_ that _into your little plan." Cam turned dubiously, only to see the boar metres away from the two of them.

He secured himself on the wooden object, grasping it with his hands, before speaking to her- feeling unsure about what he was about to do. "Grab onto me, and hold on tight."

"What!" She squeaked, staring at him and realizing what he was doing when she saw the rope connected to it. "Nuh uh, no way, there is no-"

A loud grunt from behind her silenced her, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Cam's neck. Cam jumped off the ledge, trying to ignore the pain when Annie shrieked again in his ear; could this girl get any louder? Goddess, he didn't think he had even heard Laney shriek before let alone multiple times in one night. But then again, he'd never been in the same vicinity as a boar and Laney at the same time.

Terrified, the girl wrapped her legs around Cam's torso, terrified of falling. The two slid along the rope with the wooden contraption, zip lining across the gap quickly and making it to the other side relatively unharmed. Cam, who had made the journey dozens of times before was unfazed of it. But he was overly aware of the grip of Annie's arms around his neck, the feel of her body against his was such a foreign concept to him, he almost missed jumping off on the other side before the hit the pole.

They, or rather Cam, hit the ground with a soft thud as the wooden piece of the zip line slammed into the pole, disrupting the silence. They didn't move for a moment, before Cam felt the awkwardness of the situation rising up again.

"You know," he said, prying her tense fingers off of his chest, "You can get off now."

"Is it gone?" She asked softly, her eyes still squeezed shut, refusing to let go of him.

Cam sighed, and with a hint of sarcasm said, "Yes, unless it knows how to zip line, then we're safe."

"Oh." She said softly, letting go of him and plopping to the ground, almost losing her balance, but steadying herself using Cam's shoulder.

Cam turned around, facing her head on in the moonlight, and finally realizing that Ash was right. She was kind of pretty, with those big violet eyes, and that soft caramel hair; Cam shook the thoughts from his head, he couldn't be thinking of that, not when they still had half a mountain to navigate. In the dark. With an apparently bloodthirsty boar chasing after them.

Cam sighed loudly as he sat down against a tree that held the zip line in place, closing his eyes to shut out the light.

Annie was silent for a moment. "What are you doing?"

Cam didn't even open his eyes when he replied. "Might as well sit down, we aren't going anywhere for a while."

"Why?" She asked, confused.

Cam sighed again; did she never run out of questions? "Because we should wait for that thing to go home so we don't run into it again."

"Oh." She sat down next to him, her arm just barely touching his. "Okay."

The pair was silent for a few moments, both of them lost in their own thoughts- Annie thinking about what a close call that was, and wondering just who Cam was; and Cam trying his best _not _ to think of the attractive girl beside him

"So," Annie said softly, "sorry about that back there, I'm not usually like that- I was just kind of skittish because of that stupid boar thing that tried to eat me."

Cam didn't even bother pointing out that boars didn't eat people. He figured her fear was beyond hope now.

"S'okay."

They fell silent once more, and now all of Annie's attention was focused on the man beside her. "This is kind of awkward, but what's your name?"

"… Cam."

"Cam, huh? That's kinda cute!" Annie said excitedly, seemingly one for leaving her troubles behind easily. "What were you doing up here anyway, _Cam._"

If they were open, Cam would've rolled his eyes. "Rutger sent me to look for you; he was worried, with good reason too."

Annie felt a pang in her chest at the obvious jab. "Hey! I was doing perfectly fine out here until that stupid boar came out of _nowhere_ and decided he didn't like me!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Humph! Well mister know it all, I don't need your help. So you can just go on your merry way back to… wherever you came from." Annie sprung up, and began walking away, heading for the path that would take her back to the main mountain path.

As she left his line of vision, Cam ignored the urge to groan as he put his head in his hands- he was so bad with people, he hadn't meant to make her mad, it just.. happened. Things like that always happened when Cam was around. Cam tore his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair before placing it back on his head and standing up, he had to make things right again. Besides, Rutger would be beyond pissed if he found out Cam just left her there. Cam didn't even want to think about the bouquet he would have to make Howard to get him to forgive him.

Besides, she wouldn't make it to the bottom without his help, which he was fairly confident about. She didn't know these mountains half as well as he did. He had no other choice.

Cam took off down the path, jumping and quickly catching up with Annie, who was walking rigidly with her head held high.

"Hey," he said walking beside her. She didn't respond. "Hey!" He called again, and when she didn't listen, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her back.

"Hey, listen to me." He said loudly, staring into her eyes and just noticing the tear tracks running down her face. He fell silent, just staring.

"Well?" She said, sniffing. "If you're not going to say anything, then leave me alone."

She ripped her hand away from him, and continued on while he stared at her in shock. Had his words really done that to her?

He stood silent for a moment, before sprinting to her and grabbing her wrist again. "Hey," he said softly.

"What do you want?" She spat at him, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

"I- I just wanted to say sorry, I don't really know what happened back there… but I know it's my fault, so, sorry." Cam stuttered.

Annie was silent for a moment. "No, I'm sorry too- I shouldn't have freaked, it's just… my brother was always on my case about being weak, and I just wanted to prove his wrong." She sniffed again. "I guess he was right."

"No." Cam said immediately, a reflex.

Annie grinned at him with her still wet eyes, before tackling him in a bear hug. "Thanks, Cam. For everything." She whispered to his chest.

Cam just stood rigidly, before returning the hug- patting her on the back awkwardly before pulling away. "We should get going."

Annie nodded, and the two continued on, their hearts feeling lighter.

It was a while before Cam spoke up. "Hey, do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Annie asked.

"That incline, we're going up."

"Oh, we are." Annie noticed, before blushing and turning around. "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention, I was mad and upset and…"

"S'okay." Cam didn't have the heart to argue with her anymore, he hated it when people cried. The calmer she was the sooner they could get home and he could go to bed for a deserving rest. He would have to have a nice chat with Rutger tomorrow now, too.

They continued on, silent in the moonlight.

As they walked, Annie ended up walking directly in front of Cam- who was walking slowly. Suddenly, she just stopped, causing Cam to run right into her.

"Hey, watch it-"Cam said, but was silence when Annie placed her hand on his mouth. She was rigid; Cam followed her gaze to see a large mound of fur ambling towards them, barely visible in the faded light; a low growl coming from its throat.

"For-"Cam cursed in her ear, stepping back from her.

"Shut up!" Annie tried to whisper, failing miserably, "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Well then what do you think we should do; because unlike boars, bears actually _eat_ people." Cam whispered furiously, attempting to pull Annie back as the bear continued ambling towards them.

"Run." Annie stated, and before Cam could ask what she said, she took off, grabbing his hand and yanking him with her, causing him to stumble before he regained his balance, pulling his hat off of his head and bunching it in his hand so it wouldn't fly off.

The two sprinted for a while, before Cam started to recognize the area around them. "Stop." He panted, bracing himself against a tree trunk as he caught his breath, looking back for the bear. They was _no_ way they could keep running that fast. They were barely halfway down the mountain, and one of them was surely going to trip sooner or later.

Annie looked doubtfully at him, poised to run and leave Cam behind if the bear decided to show up. Clearly she was one for self-preservation.

"Come one, there's an alcove somewhere around here. Help me find it." Without a question, Annie began running her hands along the cliff edge behind Cam, trying to find the opening he said was there.

"Here!" Cam called as the edge turned inwards beneath his hands and jutted off sharply, cutting into his palm. It was just in time, as a fierce roar sounded from a little ways down the path. Annie squeaked before following his voice, running towards him as he yanked her into the small crevice between the layers of the mountain.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Annie asked as they walked easily in it, glancing back uneasily behind her.

"It gets thinner as we go; I doubt we'll fit in at the end let alone a bear." Cam stated as the walls began closing in on them.

"Oh." Annie squished in behind him as he slowed to the stop, near the end as he became unable to move any farther without suffocating.

A grow emanated from the entrance, and the two could see a large shape with glowing eyes in the moonlight.

"Holy crap!" Annie whispered shakily, moving closer to Cam with ease until she was practically on top of him, afraid of the looming threat.

The eyes began to grow larger as the furry shape moved towards them, a revolting smell following it.

"Ew, gross. Move back more." Annie whispered, pinching her nose.

Cam continued on, holding his breath and hoping the passageway widened at the end like he remembered it did- to his luck, he was right. Annie followed him closely, and the two just barely fit in the circular opening, the moon shining down on them from its perch in the sky.

It was too close for comfort in Cam's opinion, especially from the torso up- her back was pressed against his chest, and he could feel her heartbeat- he was sure she could feel his, which was beating erratically; both because of the pretty girl in front of him, and the fact that a bear was chasing them. Mostly the bear, he told himself.

Under the light of the moon, Cam's cheeks tinted red as he tried to ignore her presence and the feel of her against him.

"It's leaving!" Annie whispered excitedly, pointing forward. Cam crooned his neck to see if she was telling the truth, and just saw the bear heading up the mountain and away from them.

"We probably shouldn't leave for a while though, it might come back." Annie reasoned, although a blush was starting to creep up on her cheeks as well. She barely knew Cam, yet somehow she felt closer to him than she had with any other guy- most likely the whole life or death experience thing, and him saving her ass. Twice.

"Yeah," Cam's reply was quiet; she could barely hear him although she was right in his face.

"So, Cam," Annie began, trying to think of ways to make the situation lighter as she maneuvered herself so that they weren't in direct contact.. And she would be lying if she said she wasn't trying to flirt with him too. Who could blame a girl for trying? "Do you do this with all of the girls that get lost on the mountain?"

He didn't reply for a while, and Annie lost hope that he would. "Just the stupid ones."

Annie rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment. It would do them no good to fight right there, there would be plenty of time for that later.

"That so wasn't my fault, Rutger should've given me a map or at least told me to be careful." Annie said animatedly.

"… Whatever."

"Boo. You're boring, what happened to fun Cam?" Annie asked playfully, tilting her head at him and turning to stare at him head on, although she was craning her neck to seem him, barely able to make out the soft contours of his face as a cloud passes by the moon and put them into darkness.

"He got mauled by a bear."

"Har de har." Annie muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

The two were silent for a while, before the awkwardness got so bad that they were willing to face the bear instead of staying in the alcove. And with Cam shifting awkwardly every few seconds, Annie felt even more claustrophobic than before. There wasn't exactly a whole lot you could talk about with someone you didn't know, especially when you were almost touching constantly.

"Wanna go?" Annie asked.

Before he could reply, she was already halfway through the crevice- slipping through much faster than Cam could; it took him a few minutes to navigate his way out of there, and even then it was a tight fit. He had grown a lot since he had stopped exploring the mountain in his spare time.

He stumbled out, only to crash into Annie who was staring intently at something a little way's up the mountain.

"What?" Cam asked, following her gaze as her made sure his hat was on properly and seeing nothing in the darkness.

"That shadow," she whispered in horror, "it's moving."

"Come on," Annie said in a hurried tone, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her as she took off down the mountain- Cam stumbling along behind her. He could've sworn his face hit every possible tree branch that hung out above the path along the way. Halfway down, Annie began laughing like a maniac before she took off even faster, letting go of Cam- leaving him confused and worried about her sanity as he picked up the pace to keep up with her.

Despite her initial fast pace, she slowed down as they neared the bottom; likely from losing her breath due to her constant laughing, and they reached the sign at the bottom of the mountain at the same time. Annie fell, or rather flopped, onto the ground and giggled happily.

"What… the… hell?" Cam asked through panted breaths, wiping a hand across his forehead as he sighed.

Annie giggled for a few minutes, before explaining. "We just got chased by a bear."

"And you somehow find that humorous?" Cam asked incredulously, his eyes wide.

"No," Annie giggled with a small smile on her face. "It's just… I don't know. It just so random, I really don't know." She sobered up, realizing that the situation had actually been kind of dangerous- but giggles still escaped her lips every few seconds.

These giggles turned into full out laughter when she remembered something. "You should've seen your face!"

Cam rolled his eyes as he watched her contort with laughter at his feet. "… I hate you."

She laughed louder. "And I left you for a bear, so we're even."

Cam sighed, looking up at the dark sky. He should leave; he had to wake up early in the morning. Besides, clearly this girl was mentally unstable. "Whatever, bye."

"No, no- wait!" Annie called, pulling herself up as Cam walked through the town gates.

"What?" Cam stopped and turned around.

Annie chewed on her lip for a moment. "I just wanted to say… um thanks; even though I went a little crazy back there," She giggled again before sobering up, "I appreciated the help."

Cam was taken back, he hadn't expected that. "Oh, then you're welcome, I guess." He started to turn, when she moved suddenly.

Annie stepped forward, standing on her tip toes, and pressing her lips to Cam's cheek before darting off in the direction of her ranch and disappearing into the blackness.

Cam stood motionless for a few minutes as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened, rubbing his cheek with his hand; she had kissed him. The new farmer had kissed him. Him.

And he had liked it.

Cam tried to push the thoughts from his mind, leaving for the café and deciding to think about all of it later. He walked through the desolate plaza with only one person on his mind, all thoughts of work and sleep abandoned for the small chance he had at love.

PAGE BREAK

**A/N: I finally got ToTT! I just love it (and Cam…) and I keep coming up with these fanfiction ideas (mostly oneshots), even though I'm only in Spring. So be on the lookout for more, and I've even got the plot for a longer story worked out- I just want to get to know the characters more before I start writing it. I don't even think I have Cam right in this one…**

**Also, funny detail- when I first started writing, I kept writing Cam as Came, and because I'm so mature, I kept laughing at it and forgetting what I was writing.**

**(EDIT 13-06-28: Fixed up some mistakes and tried to make the story flow a bit better)**


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